Italy's Treasury said on Thursday it would offer a new BTP
Italia bond starting from Oct. 17 to attract small investors
looking for protection against future inflation.

COMPANIES

BANCA MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA

State aid for Italian banks is something that should be
considered even if it remacins a remote possibility, Bank of
Italy Governor Ignazio Visco told Italian daily Il Foglio on
Friday.

The plan put together by JP Morgan and Mediobanca to save
Italian bank Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is well designed
and will be a success, the country's economy minister said in a
newspaper interview on Friday.

Asked about the sale of UniCredit assets, including asset
manager Pioneer, Generali CEO Philippe Donnet told Il Sole 24
Ore the insurer looked at opportunities every day. "But we
consider them only if they help us speed up implementation of
our business plan".

FIAT CHRYSLER

Jeep brand head Mike Manley told journalists on the
sidelines of the Paris auto show that he expected to sell 1.45
million Jeep vehicles this year, boosted by ramp up of Compass
and Renegade models.

ITALIAN BANKS, UBI BANCA

A deadline to sell four small banks Italy rescued from
bankruptcy last November has been extended for the second time,
according to sources familiar with the matter.

A treasury source said late on Thursday that Rome was in
talks with the European Commission to have the EU's green light
on the extension.

Italy's Economy Minister said in an interview in La Stampa
on Friday that the Sept. 30 deadline to sell the four small
banks would be extended.

SAFILO

Safilo said on Thursday its rose its stake in Lenti, a
manufacturer of sun lenses based in Bergamo, to 100 pct.